Knock-down hampers

ABSTRACT

In this knock-down hamper construction the molded plastic top frame with &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;live hinge&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; hinged cover and the molded plastic bottom frame or base are both recessed annularly to accommodate the upper and lower edge portions of a one-piece body of solid paperboard sheet material that is unfolded from its compact folded form to define a front wall, two opposed end walls, and two inwardly extending rear wall potions, the vertical edges of which are received in channels defined in the opposed vertical edge portions of a perforated one-piece molded upright connecting panel that fits at its upper and lower ends in the aforesaid recesses in the top and bottom parts. Pressed-in molded plastic fastener pins entered in holes provided in the unfolded one-piece body panel and registering holes provided in upright corner projections on the top and bottom frames serve to fasten the assembled components together into a rigid sturdy hamper. Good ventilation of the hamper is assured with the amount of perforations provided in the bottom frame and in the full length of the middle panel in the back wall and with that kind of ventilation these is nothing to mar the external appearance of the hamper as a whole, which despite the simplicity and economy in construction is of pleasing overall appearance. The components in disassembled stacked relationship form a very compact light bundle adapted for economical shipping in a small container.

United States Patent Provi et a].

[ 51 Sept. 19, 1972 [54] KNOCK-DOWN HAMPERS [72] Inventors: Mike A. Provi; Vytant Aleks, both of Rockford, Ill.

[73] Assignee: The Brearley Company, Rockford,

Ill.

[22] Filed: June 28,1971

[211 App]. No.: 147,861

Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Edwin D. Grant Attorney-Andrew F. Wintercom ABSTRACT in this knock-down hamper construction the molded plastic top frame with live hinge hinged cover and the molded plastic bottom frame or base are both recessed annularly to accommodate the upper and lower edge portions of a one-piece body of solid paperboard sheet material that is unfolded from its compact folded form to define a front wall, two opposed end walls, and two inwardly extending rear wall potions, the vertical edges of which are received in channels defined in the opposed vertical edge portions of a perforated one-piece molded upright connecting panel that fits at its upper and lower ends in the aforesaid recesses in the top and bottom parts. Pressed-in molded plastic fastener pins entered in holes provided in the unfolded one-piece body panel and registering holes provided in upright corner projections on the top and bottom frames serve to fasten the assembled components together into a rigid sturdy hamper. Good ventilation of the hamper is assured with the amount of perforations provided in the bottom frame and in the full length of the middle panel in the back wall and with that kind of ventilation these is nothing to mar the external appearance of the hamper as a whole, which despite the simplicity and economy in construction is of pleasing overall appearance. The components in disassembled stacked relationship form a very compact light bundle adapted for economical shipping in a small container.

12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures P'ATE'NTEDSEP 19 9972 I. i INVENTORS.

' MIKE A. PROV/ WrA/vr ALEK $06 Attorney KNOCK-DOWN HAMPERS This invention relates to a knock-down hamper construction and has'for its principal object the provision of a hamper made up of only five components, namely, a molded one-piece plastic top frame, a molded plastic one-piece bottom or base, a cover hinged with live plastic hinges to the top frame, a body panel formed from a single piece of solid paperboard unfolded to provide a front wall, two narrower end walls, and inwardly projecting rear wall portion substantially nar-,

rower than the end walls and fitting in channels defined in the opposite vertical edge portions of an intermediate molded plastic middle panel, the unfolded body fitting at its upper and lower ends in annular recesses provided therefor in the top and bottom frames, respectively, fastener pins of molded plastic construction easily entered through holes in the top and bottom comer portions of the body and into registering holes in upright comer projections on the upper and lower frames serving to fasten the parts together securely to form a fairly rigid and sturdy hamper of neat appearance and fairly attractive design despite the simplicity and economy of construction. The components, when folded and placed in stacked relationship, form a reasonably compact light weight bundle that is readily housed in a shipping container of fairly small size in relation to the size of the ultimate hamper when set up, which would require a much larger, more expensive shipping container.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled hamper looking at the back thereof,

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the hamper showing all of the components in perspective in such a way as to clearly indicate the method of assembling the hamper;

FIG. 3 and 4 are sectional details on the correspondingly numbered lines of FIGS. 2 and 1, respectively, both sections being on a larger scale;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the components in stacked or bundled relation to one another with a shipping container therefor indicated in phantom emphasizing the small size of shipping container in relation to what would be required to house a completely assembled hamper, and

FIG. 6 is a sectional detail on line 6-6 of FIG. 1 showing a plastic live hinge for the hinged cover.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout these views.

Referring to the drawing the reference character H designates a knock-down hamper made in accordance with our invention by assembling the molded plastic top and bottom parts 7 and 8, respectively, onto the upper and lower ends of the one-piece solid paperboard body 9, annular recesses 10 being provided in both of said plastic parts behind the bordering flanges 11 thereof to accommodate the edge portions of the unfolded body 9, while the flanges give a finished decorative appearance to the completely assembled hamper, as should be clear in FIG. 1. The body 9 provides a front wall 12 of the full width of the hamper, opposed end walls 13 and 14 that are appreciably narrower, and inwardly extending rear wall portions 15 and 16, substantially narrower than the end walls 13 and I4, and having their vertical edge portions snugly received in channels 17 defined in the opposite edge portions of a molded plastic rear middle panel 18 that has projecting end tab portions 19 at the upper and lower ends that fit in the annular recesses 10 in the upper and lower frames 7 and 8 in the same way as the upper and lower edge portions of the body 9. Channel shaped upright projections are molded integral with the top frame 7 extending downwardly from the four corners thereof. Similar projections 21 are provided on the four corners of the lower frame 8 extending upwardly therefrom. Thus, these projections serve to reinforce the corner portions of the body 9 from the inner side of the body, and since each of these projections is of appreciable length as clearly appears in FIG. 2 and 4, being more than double the depth dimension of the channel or recess 10 to receive the edge portion of the body 6, it follows that these projections, when fastened to the comer portions of the body by the tight fitting of plastic fastener pins 22 in holes 23 in the body and registering holes 24 in the projections, cause the parts to be fastened together solidly enough to make the hamper quite rigid and sturdy despite the simplicity and economy and lightness of construction over all.

The plastic cushioned cover 25 is hingedly mounted on the top of frame 11 by means of two plastic, socalled live hinges 26, one of which is shown in side elevation in FIG. 6 as having one L-shaped leaf 27 fixed to the frame by extension of a pair of pins 28 through spaced holes 29 in the leaf 27, the pins 28 being molded integral with the thermo-plastic frame 7 and the protruding end portions indicated in dotted lines being then under heat and pressure upset as indicated at 30 to rivet the leaf 27 firmly to the frame 7. The other leaf 31 of the hinge, which is integrally connected by a thin flexible web 32 to the leaf 26 is secured to a stiffener board 33 provided in the bottom of the hinged cover 25 by means of a screw 34. The thin web 32 molded integral with the leaves 25 and 31 of polyalloner plastic makes for very durable hinging of the cover 25 in a very compact and at the same time economical construction and there is no problem whatsoever of any binding action due to midalignment of hinge pins which the use of other standard hinges might present. A flexible fall support link in the form of a connecting strip of plastic material (not shown) is .also preferably provided between the frame 7 and cover 25 to limit the opening movement of the cover to approximately and thus avoid undue strain on the hinges 26. A plastic handle is suitably secured to the under side of the cover 25 and projects from the free edge of the cover as seen at 34' in FIG. 6 for convenience in opening and closing the hamper.

Ventilation holes 35 are provided throughout the area of the bottom wall 36 that is molded integral with the base 8, and there is a similar arrangement of ventilation holes 37 throughout the length of the panel 18 to assure good ventilation of the hamper without detracting from its general appearance.

In the operation, the components of the hamper II, when stacked compactly, as seen in FIG. 5, can be easily accommodated in a fairly small size shipping container like that indicated in dot-and-dash lines at 38 in FIG. 5. The purchaser, with very little, if any, instructions that may be sent along with the shipment or printed on the shipping container, including an illustration such as the exploded view, FIG. 6 for example, can easily assemble the hamper from start to finish in a few minutes, entirely without the use of tools, no mechanical ability being required. The assembled hamper can then be used as is or can then be painted or decorated to suit the individual taste. The top and bottom frames 7 and 8, together with the plastic cover 25 are available in a variety of colors to match or harmonize nicely with any decor. This leaves very little for the purchaser of these hampers to do in painting or decorating the body 9 once the hamper has been assembled. If desired, decorative covering sheet material can easily enough be applied to the outside of the body 9 prior to its being assembled onto the top and bottom frames 7 and 8 and panel 18, and thereby secured in place in the annular recesses 10 and channels 17 so that the entire job is completed when the hamper is fully assembled.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, this is only for the purpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that various modifications in structure will occur to a person skilled in this art.

We claim:

1. A knock-down cabinet construction of the character described comprising generally rectangular vertically spaced horizontal top and bottom frames, the latter frame being adapted to serve as a supporting base, said frames having annular recesses provided therein opening to the bottom of the top frame and the top of the bottom frame, respectively, these recesses being in vertical register with one another, a one-piece vertical body of flexible sheet material disposed between and assembled at its upper and lower edge portions in the recesses in said frames, said body having vertical folds therein at four points registering with the four corners of the top and bottom frames, and defining a full width front wall, two opposed side walls and two coplanar rear wall portions, a vertical rear wall connecting panel having its upper and lower ends assembled in the recesses in said frames and having vertical channel recesses provided in its side edges closely receiving the vertical inner edge portions of said rear wall portions, and means for securing the upper and lower frames to the upper and lower ends of said body. 2. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical corner posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside corner portions of said body to reinforce the comers of the assembled cabinet.

3. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical corner posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside comer portion of said body to reinforce the corners of the assembled cabinet, the last mentioned means fastening the comer portions of said cluding vertical comer posts rigid with the comer portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside comer portion of said body to reinforce the comers of the assembled cabinet, the last mentioned means fastening the comer portions of said body to these comer posts at points in appreciably vertic s ac d relation to e recesse in 'd es E P A gabi net constructi dn as set orth i n c 3% l including vertical comer posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside corner portion of said body to reinforce the comers os the assembled cabinet, the last mentioned means fastening the corner portions of said body to these corner posts, the posts having holes provided therein which register with holes provided in the comer portions of said body and receive fasteners entered in the holes from outside said body.

6. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical comer posts rigid with the comer portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside comer portions of said body to reinforce the comers of the assembled cabinet, said frames being molded of plastic material and said corner posts molded integral with said frames.

7. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical comer posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside comer portions of said body to reinforce the corners of the assembled cabinet, said frames being molded of plastic material and said corner posts being of channel cross-section for lightness without sacrifice of strength and being molded integral with said frames.

8. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 in which the bottom frame includes a bottom wall vertically spaced from the bottom of said frame and having ventilation holes provided therein.

9. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 in which the bottom frame includes a bottom wall vertically spaced from the bottom of said frame and having ventilation holes provided therein and in which the rear wall connecting panel has ventilation holes provided therein.

10. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the bottom frame is molded of plastic material with an integral bottom wall spaced vertically relative to the bottom of said frame, said bottom wall having a series of ventilation holes molded therein.

11. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rear wall connecting panel is molded of plastic material with the vertical channels molded integral with the opposed vertical edges thereof.

12. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rear wall connecting panel is molded of plastic material with the vertical channel molded integral with the opposed vertical edges thereof and having ventilation holes molded therein in vertically and laterally spaced relation between said channels.

I! II! IF 

1. A knock-down cabinet construction of the character described comprising generally rectangular vertically spaced horizontal top and bottom frames, the latter frame being adapted to serve as a supporting base, said frames having annular recesses provided therein opening to the bottom of the top frame and the top of the bottom frame, respectively, these recesses being in vertical register with one another, a one-piece vertical body of flexible sheet material disposed between and assembled at its upper and lower edge portions in the recesses in said frames, said body having vertical folds therein at four points registering with the four corners of the top and bottom frames, and defining a full width front wall, two opposed side walls and two coplanar rear wall portions, a vertical rear wall connecting panel having its upper and lower ends assembled in the recesses in said frames and having vertical channel recesses provided in its side edges closely receiving the vertical inner edge portions of said rear wall portions, and means for securing the upper and lower frames to the upper and lower ends of said body.
 2. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical corner posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside corner portions of said body to reinforce the corners of the assembled cabinet.
 3. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical corner posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside corner portion of said body to reinforce the corners of the assembled cabinet, the last mentioned means fastening the corner portions of said body to these corner posts.
 4. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical corner posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside corner portion of said body to reinforce the corners of the assembled cabinet, the last mentioned means fastening the corner portions of said body to these corner posts at points in appreciably vertically spaced relation to the recesses in said frames.
 5. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical corner posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside corner portion of said body to reinforce the corners os the assembled cabinet, the last mentioned means fastening the corner portions of said body to these corner posts, the posts having holes provided therein which register with holes provided in the corner portions of said body and receive fasteners entered in the holes from outside said body.
 6. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical corner posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside corner portions of said body to reinforce the corners of the assembled cabinet, said frames being molded of plastic material and said corner posts molded integral with said frames.
 7. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 including vertical corner posts rigid with the corner portions of said top and bottom frames and arranged to fit closely in the inside corner portions of said body to reinforce the corners of the assembled cabinet, said frames being molded of plastic material and said corner posts being of channel cross-section for lightness without sacrifice of strength and being molded integral with said frames.
 8. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 in which the bottom frame includes a bottom wall vertically spaced from the bottom of said frame and having ventilation holes provided therein.
 9. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 in which the bottom frame includes a bottom wall vertically spaced from the bottom of said frame and having ventilation holes provided therein in which the rear wall connecting panel has ventilation holes provided therein.
 10. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the bottom frame is molded of plastic material with an integral bottom wall spaced vertically relative to the bottom of said frame, said bottom wall having a series of ventilation holes molded therein.
 11. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rear wall connecting panel is molded of plastic material with the vertical channels molded integral with the opposed vertical edges thereof.
 12. A cabinet construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rear wall connecting panel is molded of plastic material with the vertical channel molded integral with the opposed vertical edges thereof having ventilation holes molded therein in vertically and laterally spaced relation between said channels. 